Water-cooled condenser

ABSTRACT

A water-cooled condenser that exchanges heat between refrigerant of an air conditioner for a vehicle and coolant, and then send the refrigerant out to a air-cooled condenser through a refrigerant outlet port. The refrigerant outlet port is connected with the air-cooled condenser at a position that doesn&#39;t overlap a bumper reinforcement arranged in front of the air-cooled condenser at a front section of the vehicle when viewed along an airflow direction toward the air-cooled condenser. In the water-cooled condenser, the refrigerant that flows into the air-cooled condenser through the refrigerant outlet port flows much at a position that doesn&#39;t overlap the bumper reinforcement, so that superior heat radiation performance can be brought by a sufficient cooling airflow volume. Therefore, total heat radiation performance achieved by the air-cooled condenser and the water-cooled condenser can be improved.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a water-cooled condenser, especially toa water-cooled condenser suitable for exchanging heat of refrigerant ofan air-conditioner for a vehicle.

BACKGROUND ART

A Patent Document 1 and a Patent Document 2 listed below disclose awater-cooled condenser installed within a side tank of a sub-radiator.In addition, a Patent Document 3 listed below discloses an air-cooledcondenser and a radiator arranged lower than a bumper reinforcement.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENT Patent Documents

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-121604

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-127508

Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-22474

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In the configurations disclosed in the Patent Document 1 and the PatentDocument 2, a bumper reinforcement is disposed at a front section of avehicle for collision safety. Since front surfaces of the condenser andthe sub-radiator are covered by the bumper reinforcement, coolingairflow volume reduces and thereby heat radiation performance reduces.In addition, a size of the sub-radiator becomes large due to thebuilt-in water-cooled condenser in the side tank of the sub-radiator, sothat designing of layout is restricted in a case of a vehicle whosefront section has a relatively narrow space. In addition, a pipe(s) isprotruded forward from the water-cooled condenser, so that arrangementof the bumper reinforcement in a front section of a vehicle becomesdifficult and refrigerant leakage from the refrigerant pipe(s) protrudedforward is apprehended in a slight collision to a front section of avehicle.

In the configuration disclosed in the Patent Document 3, since theair-cooled condenser and the radiator are arranged lower than the bumperreinforcement, heat radiation performance is good due to a sufficientcooling airflow volume. However, installation of a water-cooledcondenser is not considered in the configuration.

An object of the present invention is to provide a water-cooledcondenser that can improve heat radiation performance and can be adaptedto arrangement of a bumper reinforcement at a front section of avehicle.

An aspect of the present invention provides a water-cooled condenserthat exchanges heat between refrigerant of an air conditioner for avehicle and coolant, and then send the refrigerant out to a air-cooledcondenser through a refrigerant outlet port, wherein the refrigerantoutlet port is connected with the air-cooled condenser at a positionthat doesn't overlap a bumper reinforcement arranged in front of theair-cooled condenser at a front section of the vehicle when viewed alongan airflow direction toward the air-cooled condenser.

According to the aspect, since the refrigerant outlet port of thewater-cooled condenser is connected with the air-cooled condenser at theposition that doesn't overlap the bumper reinforcement, the refrigerantthat flows into the air-cooled condenser through the refrigerant outletport flows much at the position that doesn't overlap the bumperreinforcement and thereby superior heat radiation performance can bebrought by a sufficient cooling airflow volume. Therefore, total heatradiation performance achieved by the air-cooled condenser and thewater-cooled condenser can be improved and the water-cooled condensercan be adapted to arrangement of the bumper reinforcement at the frontsection of the vehicle.

Here, it is preferable that the refrigerant outlet port is disposedabove or beneath the bumper reinforcement. Namely, the refrigerantoutlet port is shifted vertically so as not to overlap the bumperreinforcement, and a position with a small refrigerant flow rate rightnext to the above-mentioned position where the refrigerant flows muchoverlaps the bumper reinforcement. As a result, affection by reductionof a cooling airflow volume can be restricted to a minimum to improvetotal heat radiation performance.

In addition, it is preferable that a sub-radiator for exchanging heatbetween the coolant and outside air is provided above or under theair-cooled condenser, and the bumper reinforcement is disposed so as tooverlap a portion of the air-cooled condenser and a portion of thesub-radiator. According to this, affection by reduction of a coolingairflow volume can be dispensed to the air-cooled condenser and thesub-radiator, and a refrigerant pipe between the water-cooled condenserand the air-cooled condenser and a coolant pipe between the water-cooledcondenser and the sub-radiator can be shortened.

Here, it is preferable that a coolant inlet port to the sub-radiator isdisposed at a position that doesn't overlap the bumper reinforcementwhen viewed along the airflow direction. According to this, the coolantthat flows into the sub-radiator through the coolant inlet port flowsmuch at the position that doesn't overlap the bumper reinforcement andthereby superior heat radiation performance can be brought by asufficient cooling airflow volume. As a result, temperature of thecoolant used for the water-cooled condenser is reduced to improve totalheat radiation performance achieved by the air-cooled condenser and thewater-cooled condenser.

In addition, it is preferable that the water-cooled condenser isdisposed on one side of the sub-radiator and the air-cooled condenser,and a liquid tank for accumulating part of the refrigerant is disposedon another side of the air-cooled condenser. According to this, thewater-cooled condenser or the liquid tank can be prevented fromcontacting with the bumper reinforcement in a slight collision of avehicle, and thereby refrigerant leakage can be prevented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[FIG. 1] It is a front view of a combined heat exchanger including awater-cooled condenser according to a first embodiment.

[FIG. 2] It is a front view showing positions of a refrigerant inletport and a refrigerant outlet port in the water-cooled condenser whenmeasuring refrigerant flow rate.

[FIG. 3] It is a chart showing measured results of refrigerant flowrate.

[FIG. 4] It is a front view showing a modified example of a coolant flowpassage in the first embodiment.

[FIG. 5] It is a front view of a combined heat exchanger including awater-cooled condenser according to a second embodiment.

[FIG. 6] It is a front view showing a modified example of a coolant flowpassage in the second embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a combined heat exchanger including a water-cooledcondenser according to an embodiment(s) will be explained with referenceto the drawings.

(First Embodiment)

As shown in FIG. 1, the combined heat exchanger 1 includes asub-radiator 2, an in-compartment air-cooled condenser 3, and awater-cooled condenser 4. The sub-radiator 2 exchanges heat betweencoolant for cooling a heat-generating object (e.g. an inverter when avehicle is an EV or an HEV) and outside air (to reduce temperature ofthe coolant). The air-cooled condenser 3 is disposed under thesub-radiator 2, and exchanges heat between refrigerant forair-conditioning and outside air (to reduce temperature of therefrigerant). The water-cooled condenser 4 is disposed beside (on a leftside in FIG. 1) the sub-radiator 2 and the air-cooled condenser 3. Abumper reinforcement 9 for collision safety is disposed in front of thesub-radiator 2, the air-cooled condenser 3, and the water-cooledcondenser 4.

The air-cooled condenser 3 includes a core 30, and a pair of a firsttank 31 and a second tank 32. In the core 30, tubes and heat-radiationfins are vertically stacked alternately. The first tank 31 and thesecond tank 32 are attached to side ends of the core 30, respectively,and are communicated with the tubes. The air-cooled condenser 3 is asubcooling-type condenser, and the core 30 is divided into a condensingsection 30 a on its upper side and a subcooling section 30 b on itslower side. Each inside of the first tank 31 and the second tank 32 isalso partitioned into upper and lower sections in accordance with thecondensing section 30 a and the subcooling section 30 b.

The refrigerant flows into the air-cooled condenser 3 from an upperportion of the first tank 31. The refrigerant flows through thecondensing section 30 a rightward in FIG. 1, and then flows downward inthe upper section of the second tank 32, and flows into the lowersection of the second tank 32 via a liquid tank 33 connected with thesecond tank 32. The refrigerant flows into the subcooling section 30 bfrom the lower section of the second tank 32. The refrigerant flowsthrough the subcooling section 30 b rightward in FIG. 1, and then flowsout from the air-cooled condenser 3 via the lower section of the firsttank 31. Note that the liquid tank 33 may be a gas-liquid separator forseparating refrigerant liquid and refrigerant gas, or a modulatorprovided in a subcooling-type condenser.

The water-cooled condenser 4 in the present embodiment is connected withthe sub-radiator 2 and the air-cooled condenser 3. A flow passage forthe coolant and a flow passage for the refrigerant are separated witheach other in the inside of the water-cooled condenser 4 and the coolantand the refrigerant are not mingled, but heat is exchanged between thecoolant and the refrigerant (the refrigerant is cooled by the coolant).

The coolant that flows out from the sub-radiator 2 flows into an upperportion of the water-cooled condenser 4 through a flexible coolantflow-in pipe 5 disposed at an upper end of the water-cooled condenser 4.The coolant flows downward in an inner flow passage of the water-cooledcondenser 4, and then flows out from a lower portion of the water-cooledcondenser 4 through a coolant flow-out pipe 6 disposed at the lowerportion of the water-cooled condenser 4 to return to the inverter.

On the other hand, the refrigerant flows into the water-cooled condenser4 through a refrigerant flow-in pipe 7. The refrigerant flows downwardin an inner flow passage of the water-cooled condenser 4, and then flowsinto the air-cooled condenser 3 through an intermediate connectingmember 8 within which a refrigerant outlet port 8 a is formed. Theintermediate connecting member 8 is connected with the first tank 31 ofthe air-cooled condenser 3 slightly beneath (closely beneath) (an loweredge of) the bumper reinforcement 9.

In addition, the water-cooled condenser 4 includes a casing 40 extendedvertically. A heat exchanging portion (refrigerant flow passage) whereheat is exchanged between the refrigerant and the coolant and a tank(coolant flow passage) formed between the heat exchanging portion andthe casing 40 for accumulating the coolant are provided within thecasing 40.

The water-cooled condenser 4 is disposed independently beside thesub-radiator 2 and the air-cooled condenser 3 (lateral to thesub-radiator 2 and the air-cooled condenser 3 in parallel to the bumperreinforcement 9). The lower portion of the water-cooled condenser 4 isattached to a sidewall of the first tank 31 of the air-cooled condenser3 via the intermediate connecting member 8, and fixed with the firsttank 31 of the air-cooled condenser 3 by a bracket 42. On the otherhand, the upper portion of the water-cooled condenser 4 is fixed withthe sub-radiator 2 via a bracket 41. In addition, the upper end of thewater-cooled condenser 4 is connected with a sidewall 20 of thesub-radiator 2 via the flexible coolant flow-in pipe 5.

According to the water-cooled condenser 4 in the present embodiment, theintermediate connecting member 8 (refrigerant outlet port 8 a) isconnected with the air-cooled condenser 3 slightly beneath (the loweredge of) the bumper reinforcement 9, i.e. at a position that doesn'toverlap the bumper reinforcement 9 (a position shifted vertically so asnot to overlap when viewed from a front of the vehicle: a position thatdoesn't overlap when viewed along a direction of airflow toward theair-cooled condenser 3). Since the refrigerant flows into the air-cooledcondenser 3 through the refrigerant outlet port 8 a, the refrigerantflows much in the tube(s) at a level of the above-explained connectionposition. Therefore, since the connection position is located slightlybeneath the bumper reinforcement 9, a cooling airflow volume is largeand thereby heat radiation performance doesn't reduce. As a result,total heat radiation performance achieved by the air-cooled condenser 3and the water-cooled condenser 4 is improved, and the water-cooledcondenser 4 according to the present embodiment can be adapted toarrangement of the bumper reinforcement 9 at a front section of avehicle.

Note that, as shown in FIG. 2, distribution of refrigerant flow rate inthe air-cooled condenser 3, in a case where an inlet port 34 and anoutlet port 35 of the refrigerant are located at a vertical middleposition of the air-cooled condenser 3, is shown in [Table 1] shownbelow. Namely, when an uppermost tube position is denoted as “1” and alowermost tube position is denoted as “20”, the inlet port 34 and theoutlet port 35 are located at tube positions “10, 11”. Then, therefrigerant flow rate is highest at the positions “10, 11”, and therefrigerant flow rate is lowest at positions “9, 12” right next to them.

TABLE 1 TUBE POSITION 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 REFRIGERANT 1.043 1.038 1.0341.037 1.037 1.037 1.034 1.035 0.967 1.177 FLOW RATE % (PERCENTAGE) 99.999.4 99.0 99.3 99.3 99.3 99.0 99.1 92.6 112.7 TUBE POSITION 11 12 13 1415 16 17 18 19 20 AVERAGE REFRIGERANT 1.177 0.967 1.035 1.034 1.0381.037 1.038 1.034 1.038 1.043 1.044 FLOW RATE % (PERCENTAGE) 112.7 92.6899.1 99.0 99.4 99.3 99.4 99.0 99.4 99.9

Since the refrigerant flow rate and the heat radiation amount areproportional, the tubes at the positions “10, 11” of the air-cooledcondenser 3 are set slightly beneath the bumper reinforcement 9 (shownby a rectangular indicated by dashed-dotted lines in FIG. 3), and thetube at the position “9” is located so as to overlap the bumperreinforce 9. According to this, the tubes located at the positions “10,11” with the high refrigerant flow rate can radiate heat sufficientlywith no affection by the bumper reinforcement 9. The tube at theposition “9” may be affected by the bumper reinforcement 9, but itsrefrigerant flow rate is low and thereby the total heat radiationperformance is hardly affected. As a result, the total heat radiationperformance achieved by the air-cooled condenser 3 and the water-cooledcondenser 4 is improved and the water-cooled condenser 4 can be adaptedto arrangement of the bumper reinforcement 9 at a front section of avehicle.

In addition, since the water-cooled condenser 4 according to the presentembodiment is not installed within the side tank of the sub-radiator 2but provided independently beside the sub-radiator 2, the sub-radiator 2can be downsized. As a result, the combined heat exchanger 1 can bedisposed even in a vehicle whose front section has a relatively narrowspace, and the water-cooled condenser 4 according to the presentembodiment is superior in view of designing of layout.

In addition, according to the water-cooled condenser 4 in the presentembodiment, the coolant flow-in pipe 5 and the coolant flow-out pipe 6are protruded laterally (in a width direction of a vehicle), and notprotruded forward (toward the bumper reinforcement 9). Therefore, it iseasy to arrange the bumper reinforcement 9 at a front section of avehicle, and the water-cooled condenser 4 according to the presentembodiment is superior in view of designing of layout. Further, sincethe refrigerant pipes are not also protruded forward, it is easy toarrange the bumper reinforcement 9 at a front section of a vehicle inview of this point and refrigerant leakage from the refrigerant pipescan be prevented in a slight collision to a front section of a vehicle.

In addition, the sub-radiator 2 and the air-cooled condenser 3 arecoupled by the water-cooled condenser 4 in the present embodiment, andthereby the water-cooled condenser 4 functions as a connection bracket.Therefore, a dedicated bracket for coupling the sub-radiator 2 and theair-cooled condenser 3 is not required, so that the number of parts canbe reduced.

In addition, the water-cooled condenser 4 in the present embodiment isconnected with the sub-radiator 2 via the flexible coolant flow-in pipe5. Therefore, deviations of an assembling position between thesub-radiator 2 and the water-cooled condenser 4 can be settled by theflexibility of the coolant flow-in pipe 5, so that assembling works canbe done smoothly.

Note that, in the present embodiment, the coolant flows into thewater-cooled condenser 4 from its upper end through the coolant flow-inpipe 5, and flows out from the lower portion of the water-cooledcondenser 4 through the coolant flow-out pipe 6. However, a flow of thecoolant is not limited to this, a flow of the coolant may be setreversely. Namely, as shown in FIG. 4, the coolant may flow into thelower portion of the water-cooled condenser 4 through a coolant flow-inpipe 50 provided at the lower portion of the water-cooled condenser 4,and may flow out from the upper end of the water-cooled condenser 4 viaa flexible coolant flow-out pipe 60 provided at the upper end of thewater-cooled condenser 4. But, the configuration shown in FIG. 1 ispreferred, because the coolant after being cooled by the sub-radiator 2flows into the water-cooled condenser 4.

(Second Embodiment)

As shown in FIG. 5, in a water-cooled condenser 4A according to thepresent embodiment, the intermediate connecting member 8 (refrigerantoutlet port 8 a) is connected with the first tank 31 of the air-cooledcondenser 3 slightly above (closely above) (an upper edge of) the bumperreinforcement 9. The air-cooled condenser 3 is disposed above thesub-radiator 2, and the water-cooled condenser 4A is disposed beside (ona left side in FIG. 5) the sub-radiator 2 and the air-cooled condenser3. Note that, in the present embodiment, components identical orequivalent to those in the first embodiment are labeled by the identicalnumbers.

The coolant that has flown out from the sub-radiator 2 flows into thewater-cooled condenser 4 through a flexible coolant flow-in pipe 5Adisposed at a lower end of the water-cooled condenser 4A. The coolantflows upward in an inner flow passage of the water-cooled condenser 4A,and then flows out from an upper portion of the water-cooled condenser4A through a coolant flow-out pipe 6A disposed at an upper end of thewater-cooled condenser 4A to return to the inverter.

On the other hand, the refrigerant flows into the water-cooled condenser4A through the refrigerant flow-in pipe 7. The refrigerant exchangesheat with the coolant while flowing downward in an inner flow passage ofthe water-cooled condenser 4A, and then flows into the air-cooledcondenser 3 through the intermediate connecting member 8 within whichthe refrigerant outlet port 8 a is formed.

In the present embodiment, the intermediate connecting member 8(refrigerant outlet port 8 a) is connected with the air-cooled condenser3 slightly above (the upper edge of) the bumper reinforcement 9, i.e. ata position that doesn't overlap the bumper reinforcement 9 (a positionvertically shifted so as not to overlap when viewed from a front of thevehicle: a position that doesn't overlap when viewed along a directionof airflow toward the air-cooled condenser 3). Since the refrigerantflows into the air-cooled condenser 3 through the refrigerant outletport 8 a, the refrigerant flows much in the tube(s) at a level of theabove-explained connection position. Therefore, since the connectionposition is located slightly above the bumper reinforcement 9, a coolingairflow volume is large and thereby heat radiation performance doesn'treduce. As a result, total heat radiation performance achieved by theair-cooled condenser 3 and the water-cooled condenser 4A is improved,and the water-cooled condenser 4A according to the present embodimentcan be adapted to arrangement of the bumper reinforcement 9 at a frontsection of a vehicle.

Note that, in the present embodiment, the coolant flows into thewater-cooled condenser 4A from its lower end through the coolant flow-inpipe 5A, and flows out from the upper portion of the water-cooledcondenser 4A through the coolant flow-out pipe 6. However, a flow of thecoolant is not limited to this, a flow of the coolant may be setreversely. Namely, as shown in FIG. 6, the coolant may flow into theupper portion of the water-cooled condenser 4A through a coolant flow-inpipe 50A provided at the upper end of the water-cooled condenser 4A, andmay flow out from the lower end of the water-cooled condenser 4A througha flexible coolant flow-out pipe 60A provided at the lower end of thewater-cooled condenser 4. But, the configuration shown in FIG. 5 ispreferred, because the coolant after being cooled by the sub-radiator 2flows into the water-cooled condenser 4A.

In addition, when comparing the first embodiment (FIG. 1) and itsmodified example (FIG. 4) with the second embodiment (FIG. 5) and itsmodified example (FIG. 6), the first embodiment (FIG. 1) and itsmodified example (FIG. 4) are preferred because the subcooling section30 b of the air-cooled condenser 3 doesn't overlap the bumperreinforcement 9 and the subcooling section 30 b functions sufficiently.

1. A water-cooled condenser that exchanges heat between refrigerant ofan air conditioner for a vehicle and coolant, and then send therefrigerant out to a air-cooled condenser through a refrigerant outletport, wherein the refrigerant outlet port is connected with theair-cooled condenser at a position that doesn't overlap a bumperreinforcement arranged in front of the air-cooled condenser at a frontsection of the vehicle when viewed along an airflow direction toward theair-cooled condenser.
 2. The water-cooled condenser according to claim1, wherein the refrigerant outlet port is disposed closely beneath thebumper reinforcement.
 3. The water-cooled condenser according to claim1, wherein the refrigerant outlet port is disposed closely above thebumper reinforcement.
 4. The water-cooled condenser according to claim1, wherein a sub-radiator for exchanging heat between the coolant andoutside air is provided above or under the air-cooled condenser, and thebumper reinforcement is disposed so as to overlap a portion of theair-cooled condenser and a portion of the sub-radiator.
 5. Thewater-cooled condenser according to claim 4, wherein a coolant inletport to the sub-radiator is disposed at a position that doesn't overlapthe bumper reinforcement when viewed along the airflow direction.
 6. Thewater-cooled condenser according to claim 4, wherein the water-cooledcondenser is disposed on one side of the sub-radiator and the air-cooledcondenser, and a liquid tank for accumulating part of the refrigerant isdisposed on another side of the air-cooled condenser.